Beautiful Ending
by Tyler743
Summary: It's been two and a half years since Sasuke has left on his journey of redemption, and Sakura can't take it anymore. Stricken with anxiety, she has taken to her mentors bad habits and has started drinking her pain away. She knows its the wrong thing to do, but it helps numb the pain, no matter how little. But she still can't help wonder if Sasuke will ever return to her.(Sasusaku)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone ! Taking a short break from my other fanfiction Ransom. I did explain the reason why in my authors note, so if you are curious about that and do not yet know, take a look at the newest chapter of Ransom :)**

 **Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this fanfiction! I think its going to be a good one. Please comment to let me know!**

 **I do not own Naruto.**

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Sakura had come to the conclusion that weddings definitely weren't her thing. And it wasn't that she wasn't having a good time, that wasn't it at all. She was so incredibly proud that Naruto had finally found happiness with Hinata, she could tell by the gleam in his eyes, and by the wide childlike smile that hadn't fallen from his face all night that this was the first time in his life that he had finally been at complete peace with himself, and that was nice to know. Never had she fully understood the hardships that Naruto had gone through as a child, but it was obvious that there was always something deep within him that resembled some sort of longing or loneliness, or both. For this reason, she couldn't shake the fluttering in her heart or the smile that was plastered on her face. But as the night progressed, that fluttering turned to discomfort and the smile was replaced with a frown. After the wedding itself, the party had moved to a larger venue for the reception, and that was where everything turned into a slow and agonizing hell, as Sakura found herself being wall flowered, forced to watch everyone else dance with each other and have a good time. Unannounced to her, dates were a bit of a necessity as she seemed to be one of the only people in the room who didn't seem to have anybody. And the worst part about it wasn't that she couldn't find a date, because if she had really wanted to she was sure it would have been easy for her. No, the reason she chose to attend the wedding alone was the same reason she had decided to avoid weddings from now on if she could help it, and she wasn't proud to admit that she knew exactly what it was.

Sasuke Uchiha. The man who had not only single handedly stolen her heart, but who had also shattered it into pieces multiple times if that was possible, and left her prisoner to her own masochistic affection for him. She had confessed her love to him when they were twelve, trying to keep him from making a mistake she knew he would eventually regret, but he merely brushed her aside and left. Left her, left the village, and a part of her believed that he had left himself as well, completely giving up on his own will. For years she had suffered with her own anxieties and depressions, trying to get over him, but she couldn't free her heart, no matter how hard she tried. Even when they had met again as teenagers and he had tried to kill her, she couldn't stop her feelings and they continued to eat away at her. But that was long ago now. After the fourth Shinobi war, Sasuke had returned as his old self, apologizing to her for everything he had done. And being the fool she was she had accepted the apology without hesitation, and before she knew it she and Sasuke were almost inseparable. For the few months that he had stayed in Konoha after the war, they were always together and it confused her. Of course he would often go with Naruto sometimes, or his Taka comrades, but she found a certain gentleness between herself and him that wasn't there before, almost like he was interested and was finally reciprocating her feelings. But before any sort of relationship was established, he was gone again, leaving her with nothing but a promise that he would one day be back. A promise that she now felt was forgotten, as it had two and a half years since that day and there she was...still alone.

Sakura leaned her chin into her cupped hands that were being propped up by her elbows on one of the round tables that bordered the dance floor and took a deep breath. Taking the straw of her White Russian into her lips she began to chug it back, the sting of the liquid running down her throat assuring her that it would indeed take the edge off. Her eyes wondered around the dance floor, watching as everyone laughed and continued having fun in pure intoxicated bliss, none of them noticing her wallowing in her own self pity at the table. Ino and Sai were passionately making out while slow dancing, Kiba's girlfriend Tamaki had her back to him, slowly grinding her behind into him as he clutched her hips roughly, and Shikamaru and Temari were off to the side talking with one another. Even Lee and Tenten were sloppily dancing around the floor. And then there was Naruto and Hinata who were also slow dancing, Naruto's forehead resting on hers as he looked down at her, his cheeks flushed with a drunken blush. Sakura continued to watch as her best friend looked lovingly into the Hyuuga's silver orbs, and she couldn't help but feel a tug of envy pull at her heart. The only thing she ever wanted in the world was for a man to look at her like that, to look at her like she was the only thing that mattered, like she was his world.

"Care for some company?"

The sudden voice snapped her out of her daze and she quickly pulled away from her drink and looked up. Unfortunately pulling away from the straw so fast caused some of her drink to spill out of the corner of her mouth. Quickly, hoping that the man who was now standing before hadn't noticed her arm shot up and she wiped it away. Mentally cursing to herself, she decided to blame the alcohol. Luckily the man just smiled. He had a beautiful smile, and fair had long dark brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail that hung over one shoulder and a strong jaw line, he was clearly a Hyuuga. His large silver eyes were looking down at her with a gentle kindness that she wasn't used to and she immediately felt the need to retreat. Pushing away from the table, Sakura stood from her chair, the results of her previous drinks finally hitting her as her vision went blurry. She shook it off and quickly bowed to the man.

"I'm sorry; I was actually just about to go out for some air." She said to him and without waiting for a response she rushed away, bolting towards the exit that led out onto a balcony. Ripping the door open Sakura released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and threw herself at the railing of the balcony, her hands grasping the wood as tightly as she could for support, and she leaned so that her head was thrown over the side as if she were going to get sick.

Her heart was beating rapidly and she couldn't help but struggle for breath. Her anxiety had been sparked. What had done it, she didn't quite know, but her chest felt as though it were about to collapse in on itself, she needed to calm down. Her fingernails scraped along the wood of the railing as she straightened up, trying to regain her composure. Of course it didn't help that she had had almost seven drinks so far that night, including two glasses of wine, but right now all she wanted was another one.

Why was it so painful to be here? Why even now did she feel as though she was a prisoner in her own routined life? She was pathetic, and had been for as long as she could remember. As kids, it was always either Naruto or Sasuke who got things done, as teenagers she was always so depressed because of Sasuke's absence that she had let Naruto fall into his own despair and now she was back in the same spot. But this time she had no one to distract her from her own pain, Sasuke was gone, Ino was gone, and now Naruto was gone as well. She was going to just continue to feel this way until she completely wasted away, she could feel it.

Finally calming her pulse down, Sakura looked out into the village that surrounded the reception hall.

"I thought I saw you come out here."

She turned her head slightly over her shoulder towards the voice she knew oh too well. Silver hair gelled to one side, a navy blue mask that hid the lower half of his face, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura's past sensei and present Hokage of Konoha. He was walking over to her slowly, hands pressed into his pants pockets, his dark eyes glued to the younger girl with a concerned gleam swimming through them. She said nothing, but her gaze followed him until he reached her completely.

"The heat getting to you?"

She returned her gaze back to look out over the balcony, her eyes desperately trying to focus on each and every one of the twinkling lights from the city around them at once.

"Yeah…" she chuckled innocently. It was a lie, but she really didn't need to burden anyone else with her melodrama, let alone the Hokage. There was a long silence between them that allowed Sakura to try to mentally sober up slightly.

She could feel his gaze burning into her and decided to quickly change the subject. "They uh, picked a beautiful night."

Kakashi nodded his head, a small smile forming under his mask. "That they certainly did. Though, it's nowhere near as beautiful as the bride."

Sakura smiled. "You're right. Hinata looks amazing. Naruto…really is a lucky man." She could feel her heart break slightly at her own words and once again became solemnly quiet. Naruto Uzumaki; her best friend, childhood comrade, and brother like figure, it felt like so long ago but there had been a time where he had tried to win over Sakura's heart. Of course she couldn't return his feelings, although she knew it would have made her life much easier if she could. She loved Naruto more than any other man she knew, but the feeling was completely plutonic. She spent most of her life routing for Hinata, encouraging her to confess her feelings to the blond buffoon. But despite how happy she felt for them now, she couldn't help but feel a bit distressed. Naruto was gone now, he had bigger priorities then keeping Sakura company when she was feeling down or listening to complain like a love struck teenager. Gone were the days where Sakura was the most import woman in his life. She knew she was being selfish, but she couldn't help it, not when her heart was in so much pain.

Her breathing had become shallow once again causing Kakashi to take notice and furrow his eyebrows at her. He had known Sakura for a long time, and even though she was a grown woman now, and he was no longer her teacher, it still pained him to see her so torn apart.

"Sakura…"he said in a hushed tone. Sakura's head whipped around to face him. She knew what was coming, she had known it was going to happen all night and even though she had tried her best to avoid it, she couldn't escape the question. "Is everything…okay?"

Deciding quickly to mask her true emotions Sakura smiled, hoping that it didn't look as forced as it felt. "Of course, I'm just a little tired, that's all." Another lie. Taking a step backwards, Sakura let go of the railing and backed further away from him. "Actually now that I think about it, I should probably get going now. I work early tomorrow morning."

Kakashi eyed her suspiciously but said nothing as she shuffled towards the wooden stairs that led from the balcony to the street below. "Could you…maybe congratulate Naruto one more time for me?"

Sakura watched as Kakashi craned his neck over his shoulder, looking into the window of the reception hall. "I would…"he began hesitantly. Sakura followed his gaze, looking in at everyone dancing and chatting through the glass. It didn't take her long to find groom who was half keeled over on the ground and being helped up by Sai and Shikamaru. He was smiled widely and looked as if he was either yelling to someone or singing along with the music. Hinata was standing behind him; her face beat red in pure embarrassment. "But I have a feeling he wouldn't remember even if I did."

Sakura giggled to herself. _Well….he's yours now Hinata. Have fun._

After saying a quick goodbye to Kakashi, Sakura descended down the stairs and away from the reception hall as fast as she could, every step making her feel less and less anxious. That is until she reached Konoha's main street, and the sight before her took her breath away, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.

The street was filled with couples, people holding hands, people laughing together; it was as though she had stepped into the scene of a bad romance movie. Sakura's eyes darted around taking the horrifying sight in before basically running down the street towards her apartment. What the hell was going on tonight? Had it always been like this and she merely hadn't noticed? Or perhaps it was just due to the effects of the alcohol that she felt as though she was the only single person in her city at this moment.

Once she had made it to her building, she flew up the stairs, shoved the key in the door, pulled it open and threw herself inside, slamming the door shut again and pressing her back against it as if she were trying to keep something or someone from getting inside. Exhaling deeply she stared into the dark that surrounded her. Finally she was home. After a moment she pushed herself away from the door, slugging her purse to the side with one hand and feeling blindly around the wall with her other hand for the light switch. Her fingers brushed against it just with the right amount of pressure to turn it on, and for a moment her eyes stung from the brightness. Quickly she adjusted though as she looked around her kitchen. It was small but very cozy, and honestly all she needed. If she were to walk straight, she would find herself walking down a narrow hallway that lead to her living room, bathroom and bedroom.

Sighing once more, she lazily kicked her heels off and started to ascend down the dim hallway where a small blinking red light caught her eye. Midway down the hallway, standing against the wall was a small table that was host to a small lamp, an old picture of Sakura's genin team, and a phone. The phone blinked violently letting Sakura know that she indeed had a message, so without hesitation Sakura extended her hand and pressed the message button.

 _"You have one new voice message. To review your messages, please press-"_

Sakura pressed the pound button before the machine had time to finish.

 _"Message one."_

"Hi sweety! It's mum!"

Immediately Sakura smiled. It had been a while since she had spoken to her mother. Ever since she had moved out of their house one year ago they rarely talked, only on occasion. In fact, the last time they had talked had been weeks before Naruto's wedding. Sakura leaned into a more comfortable standing position.

"And da-" her father's voice wrung out from somewhere in the distance, but was cut off almost immediately with a violent hacking cough.

"I told you to stay in bed! Go, go, go!" Sakura's mother's voice boomed following the cough, causing the young pinette to giggle. She missed her parents bickering.

"I'm sorry we couldn't make it to the wedding honey, your father has come down with a terrible cold, and I hate leaving him here alone. I hope you gave Naruto and Hinata our best wishes! I'm still so surprised that little goofball is married. I remember when you were both so little and he was just a little wiry thing."

Sakura smiled at her mother's words. She could barely believe it herself. It had seemed like just yesterday they were all in team seven together, gallivanting away on missions, and having their childish fun. Things were so easy back then. As she listened to her mother continue about Naruto, and the old days, Sakura's eyes drifted to the picture that sat behind the phone. It was an old picture of team seven; Sakura was in the middle of the photo, smiling wildly between a scowling Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi was behind them, his hands resting on top of the boys heads. From anyone who didn't know the group, it would seem like a tense picture, but she knew that it was anything but. This was what they used to be, what she missed; Naruto and Sasuke's frantic rivalry, Sakura's innocence, Kakashi's fatherly role. She missed it all.

Slowly Sakura's thoughts traveled back to what her mother was saying. But it wasn't that long before she wished she had just continued to zone out.

"Anyway," her mother continued with a tone that made Sakura feel somewhat uneasy. "I'm sure it was a lovely wedding. I can't wait to go to my little girls!" There is was. Sakura immediately frowned. This wasn't going to start….was it? Her mother chuckled. "I know I'm getting ahead of myself." Way ahead. "but you should really start to look for someone Sakura….you're twenty one years old and everyone else your age has someone. You're father and I are starting to worry about you." She was pulling this card. "Just the other day I was talking to Mrs. Yamanaka about Ino, and she told me tha-"

Click.

 _"Message deleted."_

Sakura huffed as her fingers left the cold buttons of the phone. The last thing she wanted to hear right now was anything about Ino and Sai. She had seen enough of them throughout the night. The worst moment probably being when Ino caught the bouquet from Hinata and practically jumped Sai right then and there. It was awkward, and made mostly everyone in the scene uncomfortable, especially Sakura. That had been enough of them for the evening, or forever at least in her opinion.

Sakura went to her room after that, and without undressing she tossed herself on her bed so that she was laying spread eagle, staring up at the dark ceiling. Silence and darkness engulfed her. She was alone, much like she always was now a day; left with nothing but her thoughts. And thoughts of what? Of Naruto and Hinata, of Ino and Sai, of her parents, of her future, and…of Sasuke. Where was he now? What was he doing? Would he ever return to her? That she didn't know, though she was beginning to doubt he would. It had been a long time she had even heard from him. He didn't write, he didn't call. She had no idea what was going on in his head, or in her head for that matter. She was twenty one years old, she should have just moved on. But how could she do that? She knew who her heart belonged to, no matter if he kept it close to his own, or merely hidden away from the world.

Sakura's eyes had just begun to drift closed when she felt the bed beside her head sink in on itself. She quickly looked around but saw nothing but darkness. Then something soft and warm bumped into her forehead, and her ears were filled with the sound of a quiet purr. Sakura smiled as she nuzzled the forehead of her cat, Ame, with her own forehead.

"Hi Ame-chan." She announced, reaching her hand out and stroking the cats black fur. The cat nuzzled back for a moment before curling up beside her. She had been a home warming gift from Kiba and his girlfriend Tamaki. And although at first Sakura wasn't too keen on the idea of having a pet to take care of, she had grown to love her little companion and was very grateful that she was there with her, especially on nights where her anxiety consumed her like this.

Turning over on her side, Sakura curled herself around the small warm being, taking shelter in the comfort that she felt from the presence of another living thing, and eventually fell asleep to the lulling sound of her soft purr.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is up! I really hope you guys are liking it so far :D Please, please, please comment ! It really helps knowing some feedback from you guys!**

 **Enjoy!**

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"Took you long enough!"

The sound of Sakura's high heeled feet clicking against the pavement of the street as she frantically ran towards Ino who was sitting impatiently at the table of an open door café wrung through the air. Her eyebrows furrowed as she noticed the unimpressed look on her best friends face; lips pursed, eyes narrowed. She even had her arms crossed tightly across her chest, and was tapping her foot impatiently into the ground.

"Sorry Ino…."Sakura apologized when she reached her, slipping herself into the seat beside her, making sure to tuck her pencil skirt under herself as she did so. "I took a lot longer than I probably should have with my last patient."

After the war, and after Sasuke had once again left Sakura's side, she had made the ultimate decision to put her Shinobi days behind her and focus completely on her medicinal research. Once Tsunade had stepped down from being Hokage, she continued to teach Sakura until finally there was nothing left to teach that she didn't know already. And once she had surpassed Tsunade, she was put straight to work at the Konoha hospital, working there only for a few months before she and her fellow doctor Shizune decided to open a new ward specifically for children. They of course got the go ahead from Kakashi, and it wasn't long until it was up and running. And although it was amazingly high paying for Sakura to be the head of a hospital, it was incredibly time consuming. She worked a lot of nights, and long nights at that and felt as though she had become a nuisance to her parents. It was then that she decided to move out.

Ino had also tried to join Sakura and Shizune with working at the hospital as a doctor, but it was quite obviously to Sakura that her priorities were with her ninja duties, so she had talked her into just being a part time nurse. Ino was hurt at first, but she understood and agreed. And even though they rarely saw each other anymore because of Sakura's busy schedule and Ino's persistent need to be attached at the hip to Sai, they agreed that they would meet twice a week for lunch, every Tuesday and Thursday. And today was in fact, Tuesday.

"Well, I already ordered. So if you want something you better hurry." Ino scoffed, sticking her nose in the air. Sakura rolled her eyes but shook it off; she really wasn't in the mood to argue today. Or ever for that matter. Luckily the waiter wasn't far off and he had noticed her sudden appearance, rushing over to her and quickly jotting down her order that she gave him.

"So," Ino started once the waiter had left, her cheery demeanor returning to her. "Have fun last night?"

"Oh yeah, tons." She really hoped that didn't come across as sarcastic.

"How hung-over are you?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her blonde friend. "I'm not hung-over at all. I didn't really drink that much."

"Lame." Ino flicked at her ponytail.

"I worked this morning Ino…"

"That never stopped you before." That was a low blow. Out of everyone she knew, Ino was the only one who knew Sakura's secret, and didn't fail to bring it subtly, or not so subtly up every once in a while. Every since she had moved into her own apartment, Sakura had began to drink. And it wasn't just a social thing or an occasional thing to her anymore. Almost every night after work, she would run to the liqueur store and pick up a ripe bottle of red wine. She liked red wine the best because of the bitter taste, white was too subtle for her, and sake just wasn't her thing. It was true that it dulled the pain that she felt whenever she thought too hard and too much about something, but the effect was short term; so therefore one bottle a night was necessary. _"Sakura, you need to get out of this rut or you're going to be all alone and a rundown drunk, just like Tsunade."_ She had told her numerous times before. But she never listened, nor cared all that much. She was already in alone, and she was already a drunk, Ino's fears were now reality, though she didn't know that exactly. And as long as it was up to Sakura, she never would know.

Ino noticed the frown that appeared on Sakura's face and decided to change the subject.

"Naruto was pretty bad last night." she giggled placing a hand over her mouth. Sakura smiled slightly.

"I noticed."

"Where you there when he started taking off his clothes?"

Sakura choked a bit on her own saliva as visions of Naruto clumsily stripping himself came into her mind. "I think I left before that…" she managed to squeak out. Ino laughed harder.

"It was hilarious. He was totally plastered. Thank kami Shikamaru and Sai were there, or he would have never made it to the carriage."

"Ah, that's right. He and Hinata left for their honeymoon didn't they?"

Ino nodded, finally calming down from her laughing fit. "Yup, gone for three days! From what I heard it sounds like its going to be so nice! I really hope Shikamaru plans mine and Sai's honeymoon too!"

"Isn't it a little early to be thinking about that?"

"Well, I did catch the bouquet!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. It was more like she had pushed Tenten out of the way to get the bouquet.

"It sucks that Naruto was so drunk though. They probably didn't get to have any fun once they got there."

Sakura cringed at the wink Ino sent to her, new images of Hinata and Naruto coming to mind. She violently shook her head, trying to get rid of the vulgar pictures her mind was now torturing her with.

"Ino, what is wrong with you? Is that the first thing you think of?" she grumbled angrily. Ino smirked.

"Well I mean….Hinata was so excited about it. She even got me to help her pick out some lingerie."

Sakura gaped at her for a moment. Lingerie? She hadn't really expected that from Hinata. But then again they were married now, it was normal to try experimenting with such things. And she knew for a fact that Naruto would love it. What man wouldn't? Especially when a girl like Hinata was the one wearing it. It made Sakura feel terrible about herself. Hinata had the ideal, sexy, womanly appearance, as did Ino, where as she was stuck in what looked like a prepubescent body with little curse and a flat chest. If anything lingerie would probably make her look younger and the man she was with like a predator.

The waiter arrived with both Ino and Sakura's lunches and drinks and placed them down in front of them before bowing and retreating away. Sakura looked down at her iced tea and wished more than anything that it was alcoholic; though she knew it was not. Just as she was about to take a sip from her straw however, loud voice called out her name.

"Sakura-san!"

Both girls looked around to see a tall man, no older than themselves rushing towards them with a handful of jumbled papers in his arms. His grey eyes were frantic and his sharp cheek bones flushed from running. The light brown curls that fell messily across his forehead were waving in the wind that was caused by his fast movement, and his plump lips parted ever so slightly as he panted for air. His name; Akito Hayarashi, Sakura's assistant at the hospital. He was a sweet boy and an extremely hard worker. But there was no denying that he had thing for his superior, everyone knew it, even Sakura. But she chose to ignore it. Not that she didn't find him attractive, or enjoy his company because it was quite the opposite. Sakura found Akito very handsome, and she thoroughly enjoyed spending alone time with him, as they often did due to their careers. He made her laugh, he treated her well, he was a true gentleman. But he was awkward, and she felt no sexual attraction to him whatsoever. They were friends, coworkers and that was all.

Akito stumbled over to the table, trying to regain his breath. "Sakura-san, I have a question I need to ask you about the report you asked me to-"

Sakura raised her hand, silencing him. With a sincere smile she looked up at him. "Akito, can we talk about this later? I'm on break right now." She giggled, trying her best not to come across as rude. Akito flushed and shook his head.

"Of course! I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"It's alright Akito. You're in tomorrow with me, so we can talk about it then."

Her smile widened at the man and he smiled back nodding.

"Yes. Sounds good. I'll see you then!"

He bowed to her and began to back away. Before he got even five steps backwards however, he froze, his face becoming completely serious. Sakura watched him nervously for a moment, scared that he might have stepped on something. But before she had time to ask what had happened, his cheeks turned bright red and he turned to her, his eyes locking with hers.

"Sakura-sanIwasjustwonderingifyouarebusytomorrownightandperhapswantedtogooutwithme?"

He had spoke so fast, it took Sakura a few moments to process his words. She gaped at him for a moment, slowly piecing the puzzle together. He had just asked her out on a date. Immediately her defenses flew up and she felt nauseous. She could see Ino out of the corner of her eye, staring at her, anticipating her answer. She knew of course that the proper answer, the smarter answer would be yes. A date would probably do her well, she had never been on one before, and she was twenty one. Not to mention that getting her out of the house for a night would probably be good for her as well, it would give her the excuse not to drink. But instead when she answered, her mouth moved on its own accord.

"I'm sorry Akito," she began, noticing Ino's jaw drop. "I work a double shift tomorrow. I won't be off until late."

Akito frowned slightly but nodded. "No, it's okay really! That was stupid of me to ask anyway." Again he bowed. "I-I'll see you tomorrow." And with that he ran off.

Sakura watched him until he finally disappeared behind a building, then she looked back at Ino, who was glaring at her. If only looks could kill.

"What?" she asked with a shrug.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? He's hot!"

"So?"

"So, you should have said yes! Sakura, you seriously need to stop dwelling over Sasuke and move on! He's not coming back. And don't try to tell me that's not what you're going because everyone knows that's exactly what you're….hey, where are you going?!"

Sakura had stood up from her chair, pushing away from the table, and leaving her food untouched. She reached into her change purse and pulled out some coins, tossing them on the table.

"I need to get back to work, Ino. I'll talk to you later." she hissed, flashing Ino one quick glance over her shoulder before strutting away. She heard Ino call back to her in protest, and she could have sworn she also heard a slight apology, but she decided to ignore it.

The rest of the day went by painfully slow and she knew that it was because of both what Ino had said and what had happened with Akito. The tightness in her chest that had formed after the incidences was making it hard for her to concentrate, so when her shift ended, she made a mad dash for the liquor store, picking up two bottles of red wine.

When she got home she downed a glass immediately, and started on her second. It wasn't until she had finished her third glass that she finally began to feel her head go fuzzy and decided to put on a pot of tea to relax her a little more. She clumsily struggled with the kettle, finally managing to fill it with water and putting it on the stove before planting herself on her couch beside a sleeping Ame, completely abandoning her empty glass of wine and going straight for the bottle.

Taking a swig of her sweet nectar, Sakura's green orbs tried to focus on her room, but it was pointless, her vision was gone. Leaning her head back on the back of the couch she cursed to herself. She really should have said yes to Akito, she regretted it now that she was home and had alcohol in her system. Ino was right, Sasuke wasn't coming back. She deserved to go on one date, even if it was just to what it was like. And who better to do it with than Akito, the man who treated her right. Unlike Sasuke who had never been there for her.

Snorting out some sort of irritated chuckle Sakura pressed the bottle to her lips and drank again. Every time she drank, every single time she would try to convince herself that she was better than this, better than her teenage self who depended too much on a man who couldn't be bothered with her, but she would always go running back, no matter what age she was. This time would be no different.

Sakura's internal war continued until she fell asleep on the couch. Even in her dreams however she couldn't get her rejection to Akito out of her head, as the scene played over and over again like a terrible nightmare. It wasn't until a loud knock on her front door caused her to jerk away, her eyes snapping open and the pounding continued. Ame who had still been curled up flew from the couch and towards Sakura's bedroom, trying to seek shelter from the loud intruder. Sakura looked down the hallway for a moment, her head still spinning slightly from the alcohol.

When the knocking continued, she got to her feet and slowly tiptoed down the hallway as if making a sound would anger whoever was on the other side of the door further. Once she had reached the door she just stood there, swallowing a large lump that had formed in her throat. She wasn't expecting anyone, especially not this late at night. Ino was most likely with Sai, Naruto was still on his honeymoon, and she couldn't really think of anyone else who would go out of their way to come see her.

Taking a deep breath she leaned forward to look out her peephole, scared to see who or what was on the other side. But what she saw immediately cleared her fear away, and caused her heart to drop in her chest.

A tall man was on the other side of the door. He was dressed in a black cloak that had the hood slung over his head. But it did not hide the dark obsidian bangs that fell over his forehead or the onyx and purple eyes that gazed back at her, as if he could see through the peephole back at her. Gasping Sakura took a step back. It was Sasuke.

Her heart began to hammer in her chest; she didn't know why she couldn't bring herself to open the door. He was finally back, and he was there at her apartment. Reaching one shaking hand up, she unlocked her door and pulled it open, the cool summer air and smell of sweet but subtle cologne filling her senses. She looked at him. He was really there.

"Sasuke-kun…."she said in awe, her jaw going slack. Sasuke looked back at her, his lips pulling up ever so slightly in some sort of smile.

"Sakura….I'm home."

Those words alone would have brought Sakura the utmost happiness if it hadn't been for the sudden shrieking that had suddenly rushed into her ears, confusing her. Sasuke and area surrounding her began to fade away and she felt something slip out of her hand. But she hadn't been holding anything had she? A loud clunk made her eyes fly open, and it was only then that she realized she was still on the couch in her living room. Looking around frantically for answers, she saw that Ame was still curled up beside her, and that the source of the clunking sound had been her wine bottle falling out of her hand and onto the floor. It had been all a dream.

Sighing, it came to her attention that the shrieking sound was still as loud as ever and she remembered about the kettle. Quickly getting up she rushed to the kitchen and turned the stove off, putting the steaming kettle into her sink. Of course it had been a dream, why else would Sasuke have been at her house but for her fantasy purposes only. The dream had felt so real however, it was so strange.

Instead of going to her bed, Sakura went back to the couch and curled up on one corner. It wasn't very comfortable, but she didn't want to be alone. Ame was there, and as easy as it would have been to simply move the small creature, she had looked so peaceful that Sakura didn't want to disturb her. So instead, Sakura forced herself into a small ball, the fetal position if you will, and tried with all her might to go back to sleep. Unfortunately for her, her mind was racing from the dream, and it seemed like only minutes before the sun had already started to break.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know its been a while, but I've been super busy with school here in Japan! But this is our last week before break, which is two months, so hopefully I will be able to get a lot done not only on this fic, but also on Ransom as well :)**

 **Enjoy and comment please !**

* * *

Sakura found it extremely hard to keep her eyes open the next day as she had only gotten about an hour in total of sleep. She had basically had to force herself to get off her couch, get herself dressed and drag herself to work. And once she was there, the bright lights and white surroundings did nothing to help but instead gave her a headache. Nonetheless she managed to keep herself chipper by focusing specifically on her wok at hand, and by talking to a few of the children in the hospital. It always brought her joy when she saw how positive her patients were. It gave her the hope she needed in order to try and better herself each day.

The day went by quickly for her, and before she knew it the first part of her shift was over. As quickly as she could, she rushed to her office to drop of her clipboard and notes. But once she got there, she was surprised to see that her door was already left open, and the sound of somebody shuffling around inside could be heard. Poking her head inside the door to get a better look at her intruder, the tall form of Akito came into view. He was standing by her desk, looking through some papers that he had in his hands.

"Akito?"

Her voice must have surprised him, because as soon as she had called out his name he jumped, dropping his papers all over the floor at his feet. Sakura frowned and stepped inside the room, immediately feeling bag for startling him. His eyes flashed towards her and he turned around, slipping on a sheet of paper and stumbling a bit.

"S-Sakura-san! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were there!" he stuttered. She smiled slightly at his awkwardness and walked over to him.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Well, I came to ask you about the report that you wanted me to write." That was right, she had told him to ask her about it later, and it was now in fact later. Sakura knelt down, her heels working as support so that she could squat close to the ground and began to pick up his loose papers. Akito got down to her level and began to pick them up as well, continuing to explain to her what his question was. It was an easy question, and it only took her a few seconds to answer. Her answer was cut short however when she reached for the last paper and her hand made contact with something warm. Her eyes flicked down and saw that her hand was laying on top of Akito's and she felt her cheeks flush. The two medics pulled away from each other quickly, their eyes locking together in an awkward silence. He was blushing too.

Sakura felt her heartbeat begin to pick up. Akito was very handsome, and she had regretted not saying yes to him yesterday, perhaps it would have been good for her to get out and experience a date once in her life. Although she had not lied to him, she was working a double shift that would probably run far into the night.

Tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, Sakura stood up, clearing her throat. Akito followed her motion and stood as well.

"I-I'm sorry…." He mumbled quietly. Sakura shook her head, but instead of replying as she intended, the words that left her mouth were beyond her control.

"I know I'm busy tonight, but did you want to go out this weekend….."

Realizing what she said and surprising herself, her green eyes widened. Akito stood there for a moment, his expression confused before his cheeks turned an even brighter shade of pink. Sakura swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, immediately regretting asking him. "I mean…if you want to…"

"That sounds great!" Akito's sudden excited caught her off guard and she flinched as he shouted his response. "Are you free Friday? Could I pick you up at six o'clock, does that work?"

Sakura's mind scrambled to grasp what he was saying. He was speaking so fast, and so enthusiastically that his rambled words were all blending together: that and the fact that she now wasn't sure if she even wanted to go on the date after all. As soon as she had asked him she was filled with a feeling of guilt a betrayal. But she tried her best to shake those feelings off the moment she saw his eyes light up.

"Friday and six is perfect." she agreed weakly, trying to make it sound like she was looking forward to it equally as much.

"What would you like to do?"

"Um…why don't you decide and surprise me?"

She gave him a sincere smile and he nodded, smiling back.

"Great! I'll think of something amazing, just you wait!"

Her day continued on as it had been, but her thoughts were once again distraught and it was harder to distract herself this time. Even though she knew it wasn't the case, she felt as though she was giving up on Sasuke. Going on a date with another man felt wrong, and she knew it wasn't as though she belonged to Sasuke or anything, but she did wonder that with her luck, if she would start to develop feelings for Akito right at the time Sasuke would return, causing her to be stuck. But that was the optimistic part of her mind. The realistic part of her mind told her that Ino was right, and that Sasuke just wasn't coming back.

* * *

Days passed with Sakura continuing to mentally war with herself. Half of her wanted badly to make up an excuse to cancel the date. Naruto was due back on Friday, she could easily just tell Akito she had forgot they had plans. But the other half of her was telling her that it would be good for her to get out there, at least if it was just to let her see if dating was her thing or not. Her only muse was alcohol, which she continued to poison her body with every night to get her mind to rest.

When Friday finally came around, Sakura's regret had finally vanished, and to be quite honest she was excited more than anything. Ino had even let her borrow one of her old dresses for the occasion, though Sakura had decided against wearing it because the more she looked at it, the more inappropriate she realized it was.

It was a tight black cocktail dress that barely covered anything really. The neckline was low-cut, though to Sakura that hardly mattered. Although her breasts had grown in size slightly since she was a teenager, she wouldn't say that they were sexy. No, she knew that she would never have that going for her, and as much as she hated to admit that she would probably always be flat, she had come to terms with it for the most part. Besides, the rest of her body was decent. She was fit, thin; had great legs and she would even like to say a nice ass.

Giggling to herself she walked in front of the full length mirror that rested against her bedroom wall. She held the dress up to her and turned to the side, wondering what she would look like in it.

 _I wonder what Sasuke would think if he saw me in this._

Right away her eyes narrowed. No. She would not let herself think of Sasuke tonight. This night was about her and Akito. Only her and Akito.

Chucking the dress on her bed, she went to her closet and dug through until she found a flowy, ivory summer dress. Wriggling out of her shirt and pants, she tugged the dress over her head and once again looked at herself in the mirror.

 _Better._

She didn't look as sexy as Ino wanted her to look, but she still looked cute, and that's all that mattered to her.

Not long after that, Akito arrived to pick her up. He was dressed in a light gray suit, his messy hair tossed back out of his face, and his eyes gleaming with both nervousness and excitement.

"You look so handsome." Sakura complimented him, causing both herself and Akito to blush. She wasn't used to seeing him this dressed up, it was very different from what he usually wore to work or what he wore whenever she saw him outside of work.

"Thank you….you look very beautiful."

"Thanks…." Sakura paused for a moment as they began to walk. "So…where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll have to wait to see."

She eyed him suspiciously and they fell into an awkward silence. Her mind had gone completely blank, she had no idea what to talk about, she never had this problem before. As they began to walk down the surprisingly busy main street of Konoha, Sakura could feel her heart hammer more and more with every step she took. She tried to get her mind off of the awkwardness and her nervousness by looking at the people gathering in the street. She had forgotten all about the matsuri that was scheduled to happen that evening. Perhaps Akito was taking her to do something that was involved with that. There were hundreds and hundreds of people crowing the street, food carts and games set up by the side shops, lanterns hung everywhere illuminating the road. It really was beautiful.

The further down the street they got, the busier the road became however and before she knew it Sakura was struggling to stay behind Akito, pushing herself past people to try and keep up. After a few moments, Akito glanced over his shoulder and noticed her struggling. Giving a quick smile he reached his hand back and told hold of her own. Immediately Sakura stopped walking, her green orbs shooting up to look at him.

"This way we won't get separated!" he shouted over the loud noise of the crowd, holding their hands up to show her that their fingers were now intertwined. Sakura felt her cheeks heat up and she slowly nodded, knowing that he was indeed right.

"Kay…" was all she said in response, and it was in such a quiet voice she doubted that he had actually heard her. Akito turned back around and started to walk again, pulling her with him. It didn't take long before Sakura had finally calmed herself down. The warmth of his hand made her feel safe for some reason, and the way his hair blew lightly in the breeze set her heart at ease. It was nice being led by someone you trusted, someone who honestly and truly cared about you. It was something different than what she had ever felt with Sasuke, who instead had only brought her pain and confusion.

After what felt like minutes of pushing past people, Akito took a sharp turn, yanking Sakura and almost causing her to lose her footing. She stumbled slightly and fell into the back of him, her face pressed up against his back. He had come to a complete stop and finally had let go of her hand, she assumed that this meant they were here.

Pushing away from him gently, Sakura looked up and her heart fell.

"Well….here we are!" Akito said with a smile, his eyes glued to the sight before them. Sakura was left speechless. In front of them, was none other than the most well known, fanciest, and above all most expensive restaurant in Konoha, Hamazushi. There was no way that she could ever accept Akito paying for not only his bill, but also hers as well. It would be far too expensive, especially for a first date. But it looked beautiful; an old Japanese style building surrounded by candles and flowers, making the atmosphere seem almost enchanted and too good to be true.

She hadn't noticed that her jaw was open until she began to talk. "Akito…..this…we can't eat here. Lets go somewhere else."

Akito looked at her again, worry spread across his face. "You don't like seafood?"

"No, no. That's not it. It's just….this place….is so expensive."

"That's okay! My dad knows the owner, he pulled some strings. Besides I already made a reservation."

With that, Akito began to walk forward towards the front door of the restaurant, leaving Sakura frozen in her place. He had already booked a reservation? He pulled some strings? How seriously was he taking this date, she had no idea. Suddenly she felt nervous all over again and had to force herself to swallow a golf ball sized lump that was stuck in her throat. She needed a drink. Taking a deep breath she rushed forward, following him into the restaurant.

Once inside her nostrils were immediately filled with the smell of savory foods that made her stomach turn. Had she always been this hungry? She hadn't noticed, but now it was very apparent. The restaurant was dimly lit, and filled with people who had most likely come from or were going to go to the festival. The pair stood at the front door, right beside the cashier, waiting for someone to come seat them. A young waitress who was rushing around with multiple trays in both hands saw them and she shouted to another young man who looked no older than Sakura herself. He nodded and hastened over to them, bowing at Akito once he reached them.

"Good evening." he said in a voice that reminded Sakura of someone of royalty.

"Good evening. Uh….reservation for Akito Hayarashi."

The young host's eyes widened and he smiled. "Hayarashi-san? Of course, this way please." With that, he turned on his heels and began to ascend into the restaurant, Akito and Sakura following suit. Sakura continued to look around widely at her surroundings. Who was this man who she was with? Perhaps she really didn't know anything about him at all.

The three walked completely to the other side of the restaurant until they came to a large glass door that led outside once again. Sakura felt confused for a moment as they continued outside, until that is she saw where they were going. It was an outside patio, filled with quaint round tables that were lit by candle light that made her green eyes sparkle. She was breathless. Never before in her entire life had she been treated to something that made her feel this special, this….relevant. And as the host finally stopped at a small round table, and Akito rushed to pull out a chair for her, she began to feel the need to cry. Everything was beautiful, and Akito was absolutely amazing. But there was something cold and twisted pulling at her heart that was preventing her from relaxing and enjoying it, and she knew exactly what it was.

"Thank you…"she said in a quiet whisper, ghosting a smile at the boy in front of her. Akito smiled back and went to his own seat, plopping himself down and taking a deep breath.

"I uh….hope you don't mind I figured you'd want a patio seat since it's a beautiful night. And you can see the festival from here, which I thought would be nice. Maybe we can go check it out after our meal."

Sakura turned her head to look to the side of them. Only a few tables away was a small iron fence that surrounded the patio, and on the other side of the fence, the bustling street that hosted the festival. She watched the people passing by for a moment before turning back to her date. She didn't deserve this. Not at all.

"It must have been really hard to get a reservation here."

"Not really. Remember I said that my father knows the owner and had him pull some strings?"

"Oh, right. Well…that was lucky I suppose."

"Oh yes."

There it was again. Another awkward silence. Sakura watched Akito as he fingered the lip of his water glass, causing a loud hum to vibrate off the crystal. She could tell he was nervous, and her uncomfortable actions and responses probably were helping at all. So she decided to straighten up, arching her back into the back of her chair and leaning her elbows on the table in front of her.

"You don't have to be nervous, Akito. It's just me." She gave him a smile as his icy eyes met hers.

"I-I know….I just….I don't really do this very often so…"

Sakura chuckled. "Well, it certainly doesn't seem that way. You chose a really nice restaurant."

He seemed to spark up at this and a small smile graced his lips. "Oh, well actually this was the place my father took my mother when he proposed."

Sakura blinked. Once, twice. _Proposed?_ Akito sensed her weariness and his eyes widened.

"N-not that I'm trying to re enact anything, I just…"

Before he could finish an older man with a perfectly waxed mustache and a handsome black suit came over, pen and notebook in hand.

"Good evening sir, madam. May I get you anything to drink?"

Sakura's mind immediately went to her happy place and before she even knew what she was saying, her lips and tongue moved on their own.

"A bottle of red wine please!" she spouted out. Both the waiter and Akito looked at her, surprised. Again a blush crept over her cheeks.

"Yeah," Akito agreed after a few seconds of processing. "A bottle of red wine."

The waiter nodded and jotted it down in his notebook, bowed then backed away. Sakura sat there, her eyes suddenly finding a chip in her side of the table very interesting.

 _I can't believe I just did that…._

Internally panicking for a moment, she turned to the menu that was resting on the table to her side. She hadn't even noticed that the waiter had brought them, but nonetheless she began to read. There were unfortunately three meals on the menu; a salmon meal, a steak meal and a lamb meal. Sakura was never really a huge fan of red meat, and her dislike for them grew even more after the war, so she knew she would probably end up with the salmon.

"It's a set menu, so there isn't really much of an option. But I heard it's really good."Akito's voice played through her ears. She nodded, looking up from the menu with a small smile.

"It looks delicious!"

Akito smiled back and crossed his arms. "So what do you think about that report Lord Sixth wants us to hand in by the end of next week? Have you started it yet?"

"Actually, I'm almost done."

Akito's eyes widened once again. "Wow, you sure are a hard worker, Sakura-san. I've been so busy lately with work and my parents, my mum's kind of sick you see, so she's always pestering my dad about helping around the house, and of course he always gets on my case about it, even though I don't even live at home anymore. And then there's my little brother who's trying to become a medical nin as well and-"

As Akito spoke, Sakura's mind wondered. She was trying to listen to him, really she was, but there was something about the way his calm voice flowed through her mind and carried her thoughts away from the table, away from Konoha. Her eyes again trailed to the crowd of festival goers. Everyone looked so happy, like there wasn't a care in the world. She wished she could feel like that, even on a night like this, a night that girls everywhere dream they could be a part of, she still wasn't safe from the chains that bound her. Because despite how happy she should have been, and how content Akito should have been making her feel, she wasn't and she didn't. She was trying her very best, she honestly was, but something just didn't feel….right. He wasn't right. He wasn't _him_.

It was at that exact moment, as if on cue that Sakura's eyes locked on one individual in the crowd. Immediately she sat of straight, her jaw going slack. Walking past the restaurant was a tall man, dressed in a black cloak; his ebony hair spiked in the way that only one person she knew spiked their hair. Her heart stopped in her chest and all of a sudden every sound disappeared and everything seemed to freeze except for the two of them. It couldn't be…

As if he could sense her looking at him, Sasuke turned his head in her direction, his mismatched eyes locking with her green ones. She felt something inside of her pop and suddenly she was on her feet.

Akito stopped talking and gaped at her. "Sakura-san…is everything okay?"

"I'm so sorry Akito, but I have to go. I'll make it up to you I promise" she had started walking even before responding to him, pushing past a waiter and causing him to drop his tray of drinks on her way towards the gate, not once taking her eyes away from Sasuke. As soon as she reached the gate however Sasuke turned and disappeared into the crowd. Sakura broke out into a run, jumping over the iron fence and hurling herself into the crowd.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Pushing herself between people, stepping on people's feet, clambering through the crowd as if her life depended on it, she never once took her eyes off of his back. But why was he walking away from her? Did he not want to see her? Was he angry that she was on a date with another man? She had no idea.

"Sasuke-kun! Please!" She was now close enough to reach out and grab hold of his cloak, so she did exactly that, extending her arm as far as she could and grabbing onto the coarse fabric. Only once her hand unclosed around it, the fabric vanished and she was met with the warm sensation of skin and bone. An arm? She was holding someone's arm. Looking up she was no longer looking at Sasuke, but of a young girl who had turned around to see just who had grabbed her, her brown eyes a mixture of annoyance and surprise. Sakura immediately let go, confusion swimming through her mind.

"What's your problem?"a males voice boomed from beside her and her head quickly snapped to see a taller man step beside the girl, wrapping his arm around her as if Sakura had assaulted her and he had to protect her. Shaking her head she began to fumble on her words.

"I….I'm sorry I….thought she was someone else."

Backing away, someone who was walking bumped into Sakura hard, causing her to stumbled, and sent a tremor of pain shooting through her entire body. Had it been a hallucination? Another trick of her mind? Her breathing began to get shallow as she felt her anxiety begin to drown her.

 _Sakura…_

Her head whipped around. It was Sasuke's voice, calling her name. Maybe he was there after all.

 _Sakura…_

This time it was Ino. Sakura turned around again searching violently through the crowd of people as more and more voices filled her head, all of them calling her name to the point where it was all she could hear.

 _Sakura…_

 _Sakura…_

 _Sakura…._

Throwing her hands over her ears, Sakura clenched her eyes shut. "Please…stop…."she whispered, pleading for the voices to stop. But then didn't. They only continued to get louder and louder. People continued to bump past her, and every touch made her skin boil and sting. She could feel her blood pulsing through her veins, and it almost felt as though she were on fire. Her anxiety crept its way into her chest.

"STOP IT!"

Tears began to fall from her clenched eyes and she dropped to the ground in a squatting position. It was all too much, she was going crazy. What was going on with her?

 _Sakura…_

 _Sakura…_

 _Sakura…_

"Sakura-chan?"

With the last voice, came a large strong hand that clamped around her upper arm, pulling her back to her feet and snapping all of the other voices away. Sakura opened her wet, hazy eyes and two blurry figures came into view in front of her. It took only seconds for her eyes to adjust to realize that Naruto and Hinata had found her, both of them looking worried beyond words. "Sakura-chan…are you okay?"

Sakura's face scrunched itself and she broke into a terrible ugly cry. She tossed her arms around Naruto's neck, throwing herself into him and burying her face into his hard chest. How glad she was that they had found her, but how foolish and vulnerable she felt at the same time. Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and looked down at his wife. Hinata frowned at the sight of her friend and placed her hand on her back, slowly rubbing it to comfort her. Neither of them knew what was going on, or why she had been like this, but they did nothing that there was indeed something very wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait!Things have been very busy, but I'm not done with this story yet :)**

* * *

Sakura awoke the next morning rather slowly and incoherently. Her head was pounding, and her chest felt heaving like someone had been laying on it all night. Without opening her eyes she could tell that she was not in her own bed, the comforter was too thick, it was making her sweat and the pillow was much too soft. She had no recollection of what had happened the night before after being found by Naruto and Hinata, but she had known it wasn't pleasant. Panic attacks where nothing new to here now days, but what had happened last night had been something entirely different, the only way she could describe it was like some sort of mental breakdown.

Sakura opened her eyes cautiously, allowing for her eyes to adjust. She was in a large room that was decorated with relics and antiques from many years ago. Without moving her head, her eyes shifted around the room, trying to find something that would tell her where exactly she was. But before she could see much of anything that wasn't in her direct line of sight, two voices that sounded like they were coming from down the hall of the room echoed through her ears. She couldn't heard exactly what they were saying, but she could recognize one of them, the other was speaking much to quiet.

Slowly propping herself up on her elbows to look at the door, Sakura immediately felt like the room around her was spinning. She let out a pained groan and fell back into the pillow, strands of her hair falling into her face. Loud, hurrying footsteps thumped against the wooden floors of the hallway, coming closer and closer to the bedroom door until finally the doorknob clicked as someone turned it, and the door opened just a crack. Sakura's eyes flicked to the door and watched as a small blonde head appeared.

"Sakura, are you awake?" Ino asked quietly, her blue eyes filled with concern. Sakura grunted her eyes finally able to see a small crest that was engraved on the back of the door, the Hyuuga crest. So Naruto and Hinata had brought her to their house, how embarrassing. That was all they needed their first week of matrimony, was for some mentally unstable girl to impose on their personal space and be a complete nuisance, and to top it off Ino was involved. She tossed a hand over her face, hiding her shame and groaning again. Could this please just be a nightmare?

Ino pushed the door open all the way and side stepped inside, closing it behind her. Linked in one arm was a wicker basket, filled with bottles of who knew what. She made her was to the bed and sat down, the bed sinking much further inward than Sakura was expecting. She watched as Ino dug through the basket, seemingly looking for something.

"Why are you here?" Sakura managed to mumble, although it came out much harsher than she had wanted it to. Ino pulled out a bottle from the mess in the basket and began to twist the cap off.

"Naruto called me this morning. He and Hinata found you last night having a panic attack in the middle of the street. You passed out not long after. He was worried about you." She said, her eyes seemed to be avoiding her and she kept them glued to the bottle in her hand. The cap came off and she held the bottle to Sakura. "Sit up and drink this."

"What is it?" Sakura asked, slowly trying to sit up once again, and once again he room began to spin. She clenched her eyes shut, trying her best to ignore it and scooted back in her seat, pressing her back against the headboard for support.

Ino frowned at her. "Something to help with the headache."

Sakura opened one eye and shakily took the bottle from her. She eyed it suspiciously for a moment, its dark, thick appearance making her want to vomit. "And how do you know I have a headache?"

Ino snorted some sort of half laugh and her blue eyes for the first time since she had come in looked at her pink haired friend. "Naruto dropped you while he was carrying you here, said you hit your head pretty bad."

Sakura cursed to herself before raising the bottle to her lips. Of course he would the big buffoon. Why did she expect any different, he was still clumsy, can't do anything right Naruto after all. Putting the bottle to her lips she tipped her head back and began to drink the cold, tar like substance in the bottle. It was probably the grossest thing she had ever drank in her life, and she immediately wanted to spit it out. But despite the fact that her body was rejecting the medicine she managed to force it down, swallowing every last drop the small bottle had to offer. Ripping the bottle away she pushed it back at Ino and coughed.

"What the hell was that?"

Ino smiled. "A medicine from the Nara Clan. Shikamaru gave it to me a while ago when I had a bad migraine. But I honestly wouldn't touch it."

Typical Ino, giving Sakura the things she didn't actually want. Sakura chuckled and tried to swallow a bit of her own saliva to mask the taste of the medicine, but her throat was dry. She looked to her side to see if anything was left for her on the bedside table, but there was nothing. She did notice however that the window to the side of the bed was open, a light breeze was coming into the room, it seemed like it was a nice day out.

The girls sat in silence for a while, as Sakura looked blankly out the window and Ino looked at Sakura. She frowned after a while noticing that her friends eyes had changed so much from only a few years ago. They used to be so full of hope, so full of life and now it was as if all of the life had been drained out of them, and they were replaced with porcelain. Her heart went out for her like it never had before. She understood the pain that she was feeling, the pain of being alone. Perhaps not to the extent that she should, but she knew.

Reaching her hand out, she began to rub Sakura's arm gently, causing Sakura to jump in her place and look down at her arm to see what was happening. She calmed when she saw that it was Ino comforting her and looked up.

"You know you can talk to me, Sakura." Ino whispered. "I know I don't really seem like I care, but I do, and I am here, we all are."

Sakura looked back at her arm, the soft touch making her feel fragile, something she wished with all her heart that she wasn't but in reality she knew that she was. She pulled her arm away, leaning slightly to the side.

"Ino I'm fine. I just...I don't know what happened last night. I think I was just overwhelmed that there were so many people."

"Bullshit." The annoyed tone surprised Sakura for a minute and she looked back at her friend, eyebrows furrowed. "Hinata told me that when she put you to bed she heard you say his name."

Sakura gaped blankly at the blonde, and though it didn't surprise her, it only made her feel more pathetic then she already did.

"His?" her voice was quiet, and to be quite honest she had no idea why she had asked the question. She knew exactly who Ino was talking about, but for some reason she needed to hear his name. She needed to know that he was real and not just a figment of her imagination as he had seemed to be the night before. Who could she deny it to, she was still very much in love with him, infatuated with him, and there was no escape. He was like drug to her, poisoning the very blood in her veins, killing her slowly, but she was addicted and couldn't keep away. She needed him in her system; just the thought of him alone was enough to satisfy her ever so slightly. And she needed that.

Ino gave her a look. "Sakura..."

Sakura looked down at the comforter that covered the lower half of her body. She felt ashamed. She really did want to talk to someone about it, but that would mean admitting things to others that she wasn't even ready to admit to herself. She just needed wine.

"What time is it?"

"Sakura don't change the subject."

"What time is it, Ino?"

Ino sighed and looked down at a small silver watch that sat around her wrist, a gift from Sai for her last birthday.

"Quarter to two."

Sakura's eye widened and without any hesitation she threw the blankets off of her and stood up, wobbling a bit from her possible concussion. She hadn't realised it until that moment but she was still in her dress, Hinata must have brought her straight to bed. Ino jumped up as well as Sakura headed towards the door, mumbling about how she had slept so long. No doubt it was because Naruto had dropped her, probably knocking her unconscious for all of this time.

"Where are you going?" Ino shouted as Sakura pulled open the door and started down the hallway. It was strange walking out into the unfamiliar hallway of Naruto and Hinata's new house. It had been a gift from Hinata's clan as a wedding gift; off the grounds of the Hyuuga compound but none the less pristine. Like the room, the hallway was filled with pictures and antiques hanging from the wall, clearing showing the Hyuuga roots to all who walked down. Before Sakura got to the stairs that lead downstairs, she heard Ino's heavy footsteps rushing behind her. "Sakura! For all we know you could be concuss! Where are you going?"

Sakura thumped down the stairs, her hand ghosting over the railing. She looked over her shoulder at Ino who was still following her. "The cat needs to be fed." she hissed the excuse again more aggressive then she had intended, but for some reason she was irritated that the Yamanaka girl was still following her. Her foot hit the ground floor and she turned her head back around, her face crushing into something orange and hard. She felt her nose snap and stumbled backwards, trying to push herself away from the pain. The back of her foot hit the first step and she started to fall backwards, fortunately the thing she had run into was Naruto, and his arm flew behind her, grabbing her around the small of her back. Sakura's left hand grabbed hold of the banister while her right dug into Naruto's orange hoodie. Her eyes narrowed and they shot towards him, emerald clashing with azure.

"First you drop me on my head, then you try to break my neck on the stairs, are you trying to kill me?" she growled at him. She knew it had been her own fault for running into him, but he was only adding to her irritation. She felt smothered in this house, and she hadn't had a drink for much longer then she would have liked, her body was beginning to feel the withdrawal. Naruto blinked and helped her back to her feet; Ino came down behind them and pressed herself in between Sakura and the wall so that she was now standing beside Naruto.

"Sorry Sakura-chan, I really didn't mean to..."

Sakura sighed in defeat as they let go of one another. She needed to stop taking everything out on everyone else, it wasn't fair and it wasn't their fault she was in a pissy mood. "I know Naruto, you don't need to apologize. My head's just bothering me..." Another excuse.

Naruto took a step backwards and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. He seemed like he was about to say something, but it was Ino who spoke first. "I gave her the medicine Shikamaru gave me; she should be fine within the next hour."

"That's great!" Naruto chimed with a smile, turning to Ino briefly before turning back to the pinkette. "Is there anything I can get for you Sakura-chan? Hinata just ran to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for curry, you like curry right?"

Sakura tried her best to smile, but she wasn't one hundred percent sure how it looked and shook her head. "That's really nice of her, and I can't thank you guys enough or apologize enough for last night, but I really have to go home. The cat hasn't been fed since last night and I really just want to lie down again."

She watched as Ino and Naruto gave each other a look, she knew that they knew what she wanted to do, and that made her feel even worse then she already did. She wouldn't by any means classify herself as an alcoholic, she didn't HAVE to drink every day, and she was not addicted. But she did like to numb the constant pain that she felt in her heart, and wine helped with that like nothing else.

"Oh!" Ino snapped her fingers and smiled. "Sakura, this is Naruto's first day back since his honeymoon, how did that go Naruto?"

Before Naruto could answer Sakura held up her hand. "Please." She begged softly. "I'd love to hear the story Naruto...but later. I will go straight home, I promise."

She and Naruto locked gazes once again, looking at each other for a long minute. He sighed finally and stepped out of her way, Ino looked at him surprised. She smiled.

"Thank you." She mumbled as she brushed past him. "And thank you for the medicine Ino."

The two blondes continued to stand in their place as Sakura walked down the wall way of the large house. Luckily the front door, and her shoes, was straight ahead. She quickly put them on, brushed her fingers through her hair to untangle any knots that her slumber had caused, opened the door and left without saying another word. She was surprised when neither Ino nor Naruto came after her, and she was surprised with how little she felt bad about leaving while Hinata shopped for food for her. But above all she was surprised that she did go straight home, she fed the cat, and despite her longing to get drunk and whisk all of her problems away, she kept her promise to them and went right to bed.


End file.
